On the [      ]
A grant has been made by the
Cape Parliament for the path through Kuruman
you suggested. Mr Moffat has undertaken it.

Tette 13th Septr 1858

Private

My Dear Captain Washington

                                      I thank you a thousand
10times for the wise precaution you took of
placing Captain Duncan on a proper understanding
with Bedingfeld before we left Liverpool
But for that we could not have lived with
Bedingfeld in whom I am sorry to say I have
15been completely mistaken. I confess
that you saw much farther than I did when you
disapproved of my haste in naming him
for whenever he was free from sea-
sickness he quarrelled with some one. First
20the engineer and but for Captain Duncan's
kind interposition we should have been
deprived of the best man that Tod & Macgregor
of Glasgow could give us. He offered to go
as a stoker in the Pearl rather than be abused
25by Bedingfeld's tongue. That over B. shirked
the Bar of the Luabo unless I ordered him
again he having written orders to the effect
in his possession - He quarrelled with
Duncan and every time the Pearl got into
30difficulty there Bedingfeld came on board
& had a public altercation with Duncan
before the crew of the latter - At Row 0002
No 4. I put a stop to it by saying - "Captain
Bedingfeld I must have no more of these
public altercations." He retired to write his
resignation and delivered it to me that evening
5I would have sent him home by the Hermes
but Captain Gordon being still with us told
me it was done in a temporary fit of anger
and he would be happy to be the medium of
withdrawing it. I allowed him to withdraw
10it but he at once asserted that he had
done quite right in writing it - that he had
been slighted - not consulted as man of
his high position ought to have been &. &c.
He had a fifth altercation with Duncan
15and though he had my written orders to pilot
the Pearl out of the river and I had promised
to see that done he told Duncan with
some bitter taunts that "the Launch should
not go down if he could help it notwithstanding
20my promise. To effect this he reported
to me that the rivet heads were rusting off
(after five weeks service only) and that
she could not go down to the mouth of the
Kongone without making it probable that she
25would never get up here. He wrote a protest
to that effect, and when I examined the
rivet heads and asked him to shew which
were rusting off - He got on his high horse
saying that he had always been associated with
30gentlemen Did I doubt his word - you are
not a gentleman. (referring to my early life) 0003
He wanted to convert the Launch into a separate
command asserting to me her total incapacity
to carry anything. "I can tow but I cant carry
anything." (I brought up four tons in her
5this trip) and turned out the luggage to other
members from what he called "my cabin" the
only accommodation the party had. He then
gave in another resignation and boasted to Dr
Kirk and others that he had done so - then
10twice expressed sorrow to myself that I had
not accepted it. He evidently thought himself
indispensible and the airs he put on no
tongue can tell. Would you believe that
the fact of his having a higher salary than I
15have was constantly quoted as evidence of his
high position and attainments while he
absolutely could do nothing except take a latitude
constantly boasting of being a man of business
and that you had said to him that I was not
20a man of business he shewed his talent by
ordering everything he could think of. Imagine
my consternation on seeing ninety casks
of Kroomen's possessions turned out of the
Pearl. Well not being easily abashed I proposed
25carrying a little in the Launch as the
Portuguese were engaged in a war & could not
help us. No, no, he could tow only. It required
nine trips to carry our 25 tons of luggage
thus but by loading the Launch with two
30tons we could removed all in five - he
seemed then to think it necessary to prove
that his work was excessively difficult -
ran the launch aground every dozen miles -
kept her excessively dirty - pointedly refused 0004
in presence of Mr Thornton to have anything
to do with making a systematic arrangement
for the expenditure of the Kroomen's provisions
and at last when Mr Baines ran her aground
5as he was taking his dinner Bedingfeld said
to Mr Rae - "I saw that, and let them, do you
think they could do without me." As he was
thwarting the progress of the Expedition while
ostentatiously promoting it, and I had borne
10with his insubordination - carping, complaining
and raising objections at every step - besides
taunting me with not having accepted his
resignation I made arrangements with
Colonel Nunes to have him safely conveyed
15to Kilimane - lodged there comfortably in
my former quarters till a man of war
should call and then gave him my acceptance
of his resignation which he recieved by
dancing and singing and calling the Kroomen
20together said - "Ah I shall soon be out at
Sierra Leone in charge of a man of war
and will know to whom to give jobs"
He had often boasted that if that should
happen which had now come to pass all
25the Kroomen would go with him. They now
came and told me that when Governor
Hill told the head man to select 11 men of
war's Kroomen he readily found them
but on finding at our arrival that Bedingfeld
30was to command all that party deserted
except three and now that he was dismissed
they would do anything for me. As he 0005
had previously tried to raise a clamour
by standing up for the Kroomen to get
their Sundays and stop the steamer for
their proper time for meals, while I was
5straining every nerve and never resting
on that day unless we were all together
the country being in a state of war and
the healthy season passing quickly away
I felt very glad to find that this dodge
10of his had failed too. and mounting the
paddle box myself made a quicker passage
up to Shupanga than he ever did and
never once touched the ground. I then tried
Dr Kirk and he being equally successful
15you may expect Bedingfeld home
to nurse his dignity where it will do
no harm. I came up here in seventeen
days from Shupanga though the water
is nearly at its lowest and we spent
20five days in one part where the river
is nearly four miles broad seeking a
passage and one half of our time was
spent in cutting wood. Above Lupata
all is fine though many sand banks are
25there but the river is in one channel &
we ran up with both steam & sails -
Here we are visited with as much
interest as you do the Leviathan and
I have got about two tons of coal in 0006
her the first ever dug in Zambesia.
I go down to bring up all my companions
tomorrow. Kebra basa is maintained to be
not a waterfall but a number of rocks
5jutting out of the stream. There is a narrow
deep channel which at some parts is
rendered tortuous. If I can blast away
some of those that stand in the wrong
places I shall not grudge a few hundred
10pounds of powder and a few months
toil though I dont promise to turn
quarryman. My men, poor fellows
clustered around me and caught hold of
me in a sort of convulsive way while
15some screamed with joy. I never shed
a tears but they now ran down my
cheeks involuntarily. Thirty of them died
of small pox, and six were lately killed
by a rebel in his stockade at the mouth
20of the Luenya - for these all our hearts
are very sore. They have a great stock
of pigs and tell me that they were often
taunted by the Tett people saying that I
would never return. Many have taken
25unto themselves wives and all have lots
of beads which they have gained by wood
cutting and intend to take home. I have
entered poor Sekwebu's confidential servant
as a Krooman and I gave all the rest two
30fathoms of cloth each. I shall give other 0007
other things when the luggage is up according
to your instructions.

Your remember the Ban was rejected
by Bedingfeld. I feel positive that she
5is exactly what we need here - the
Launch whose engine ought to be called
the Asthmatic draws 2 ft 6 or 7 when
loaded and instead of "very little wood
being required" we give her 1 1/2 cwt
10of dry lignum vitae each hour. B's
report from Liverpool was erroneous
and I found it out only after our coals
were done. With wood alone we never
get five knots out of her. The canoes
15slowly punting along pass us and
look back at us to our infinite dis-
gust. The engine is badly constructed
the boiler tubes being placed below
the fire & on one side - so one side of
20the boiler is cool while the other is hot
and five hours are necessary to get
up steam. There is no steam chest
and though I protested than ten horse
was too little no more was given
25because forsooth an old cylinder
cast for a low pressure was for
the sake of saving expense employed 0008
The feed pipe is longer than the other instead of
being smaller and while I say that the
vessel herself is not a bad one Laird has
treated us shamefully with the engine. I was
5passive about the Ban as indeed I was
about many other things when I had a
naval officer to attend to these things
I now remember that B. was very
anxious that I should apply for a second
10master and when I refused he con-
demned the Ban on the report of some
unknown carpenter. It is impossible
not to suspect something was wrong
when we found Bedingfeld suffered
15so much from seasickness which he
says grows upon him that he could
not have navigated her out. He has
frequently boasted of having been twice
tried by court-martial & once & punisheddismissed
20the navy. A clever thing he did was to
write a "log" after his resignation was
accepted from the private journal of
Mr Baines, and apply to me for a sextant
chronometer &c. by way of making
25himself appear only suspended, so as to
claim his pay but I told him it
was stopped on the 31st July - this was
the only thing that brought him to his
senses.

        I am &c. David Livingstone